The LORD has a way of influencing my thoughts. The thoughts of one of my characters in my book and what the minister said triggered new deeper insight into God.
I have a deep desire to make 2016 spectacular. That’s my goal each year but this year I mean it in a different way.
The character in my work has too many things going on in his life making things complicated. I suppose that is the result of me wanting to focus on just a couple of priorities to accomplish in 2016 besides all of the daily necessities and who knows what else will come along.
Men seem to have a wonderful way of just focusing on one thing at a time. But I believe God made women with desire to handle multiple things since she is generally the one who takes most of the responsibility of the children, the home and her husband. This is not a bad thing since God created women for that very purpose. He created man to provide for his family. That’s why most men can go to work and not get irritated with traffic, coworkers or the assignment given to them. Whereas women struggle with those issues. Men often have a hard time dealing with screaming kids, routine household tasks, shopping and so on. But women seem to be natural at dealing with it all.
So, now I’m finding myself in a dilemma of wanting to focus on just a couple major things I want to accomplish this year which will require most of my attention.
I figure if I can just select two things each year that over time it will be a significant change to the positive. But now how to accomplish that. I have made significant progress over the past few years but there are a few areas that are still lacking and that is due to the fact that I haven’t figured out a way of keeping my mind focused on them for more than a few minutes at time before I’m distracted just like my character in the book.
I think that’s why I love writing so much. It makes me evaluate the situations that come into my character’s life with the hope that I don’t make the same mistakes they do and also in the process of writing I learn more about how to deal with life. God gives me insight that helps me.
There are a number of old sayings like: “Keep it simple stupid. (KISS)
I believe that is part of the answer to life. Keep it simple.
That’s what I’ve discovered on my journey to know God and what He desires of me. It’s just a few simple things that He asks of me. To love Him. To trust Him. To get to know Him through His word. To mimic Him.
That’s what Jesus did. He only did what His Father did. He didn’t try to invent a new way of doing something. He didn’t invite anything into His life other than what His Father wanted. He kept things simple.
I remember years ago watching “The gods must be crazy.” It’s an old movie but it struck me at the time that was the answer to life. It showed this young boy tossing a coke bottle up to God. I saw what an uncomplicated life he lived and actually became envious. We’ve complicated our lives to the point that very few people actually find joy or peace.
I have found that the happiest times of my life are when I’m thinking about God, loving others and keeping things simple. My life gets out of control when my focus is turned away from God and put on worldly activities. That’s when sadness, discouragement and all those other negative traits surface.
When my mind is focused on God, it’s focused on the truth and it’s the truth that sets us free from all of the negative thoughts that are thrown at us. When we know the truth we can put life into its proper perspective. We know what’s important and what isn’t.
So, I suppose that should be number one on my list for 2016. Keep things simple. Keep my priorities to a minimum and in their proper perspective and focus only on what is important.
Wishing you all the best in the coming year. God bless and thank you for joining me on this wonderful thing we call life.
Isn’t that the case we often find ourselves in. We look immediately at our losses instead of our gains.
The truth is that 2015 was a very good year. If I were to be completely honest with myself and if I could examine the gains in their entirety, I would come to the conclusion that 2015 was one my best years ever… if not the best.
The wisdom alone that I gained this year is priceless. The panicky feelings that I would sometimes get when things went wrong are gone. That is priceless. The anger that arose inside when I saw a stupid comment on twitter or facebook or from family or friends is gone. This is priceless. The worry over what is happening to our world is gone. That is priceless. It’s impossible to buy peace but I have peace. I could go on and on with all the blessings God has granted me over the year. He gives us more blessings throughout the year than what life throws at us. I pray that in 2016 I focus more remembering the blessings and quickly forget any loss.
I may not have what I started 2015 with but I’ve gained so much more.
Farewell 2015. Thank you LORD for your kindness while You guide me through the year and I trust You will make 2016 even better.
This week I tried to catch up on the dozens of Youtube videos that have accumulated in my Inbox to view when I was reminded that the Bible is God’s love letter to us.
The more I study the Bible and allow myself time to reflect on what God is trying to reveal to me, the more I’m overwhelmed by the knowledge of how much He loves me. And He loves you that much too. His love is for us is outside our capacity to fully understand since we live in a different realm then He does and sadly, we have been deceived into thinking otherwise by earthy beings. Through indoctrination, many people don’t even know what love is.
1 John 4:16 tells us:
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:8 also tells us that God is love.
When we accept Jesus as our LORD and Savior, He abides in us. The Holy Spirit comes and lives in us to guide us to the truth.
Once we understand God’s love for us, then we can love others unconditionally. God’s love towards us isn’t based on anything we did. We cannot even earn His love. God cannot be bought. He gives us His love freely just like He gives us salvation freely. The only thing we need to do is accept it with our entire being.
He is my LORD and Savior. Not the world, not the things in the world, and not any one person or group of people. There is only one LORD. When we put anything above Him, that’s when our life starts going amok. That’s when we lose our peace, our joy, our happiness, our contentment with life.
Once we set our priorities, our beliefs, our behavior in line with God’s that’s when our world becomes almost as perfect as it ever could.
I love that time of night when I get snuggled under the covers with the lights turned off. The stillness and quiet allows me to reflect on the past twenty-four hours and give thanks and glory to God for granting me another wonderful day full of blessings including His love and peace.
I’ve gotten to the point that I can feel Jesus’ love deep inside of me. He is so close that I can feel His love and peace. It’s an amazing feeling that can only be felt and not described.
Philippians 4:7
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The terrors of the night disappear when we keep our minds on God.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
I used to recite this at night whenever my thoughts roamed keeping me awake. Now, I focus on the LORD, feeling His love and knowing that He never sleeps so that I can.
Christmas is upon us. It’s a time to reflect and be thankful that God sent His Son to bring peace between Him and us. It’s a peace and love that the world will never understand until they get to know Him.
My Christmas wish is for everyone who reads this to experience with a greater understanding God’s love towards you and what amazing happened to the world the day Jesus was born and the day He died, so that in 2016 you will have an abundance of love and peace that only comes from God.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
We all have concerns. However, from experience we should never allow them to dominate our life. Take it from me, when we do they become larger and larger to the point, if unchecked, they will cause anxiety and panic.
In high school, I started worrying about something. It started off small but over the years I allowed it to get out of control. We do that not understanding what we are doing to ourselves and the affect that it will have on our lives.
I understand that now but satan still uses that against me and my mind and body still try to respond to the thoughts he places in my mind.
It always amazes me how awesome our God is. He has a way of reminding me of the truth. I no longer have any anxiety or panic even though from habit my body wants to start that process once an old thought comes to mind.
I know the truth now. The truth does set you free. Knowing the truth will stop satan’s control and it will also make you wise so that you are not controlled by him or the people of this world that feed you with lies to manipulate you to their advantage.
Christmas Day I was reminded of an old fear I had and even though I put a stop to it, my mind kept trying to return to it.
I trust God now more than ever before and I know from experience that everything will turn out okay. It always has.
Yesterday God brought my mind to this tiny book I purchased that was placed inside a stack of other books practically hiding it from view. When I looked at the stack that small book was all I saw. It gnawed at me until finally late last night I removed it from the stack and started reading the first chapter.
God was speaking to me through that small, tiny book reminding me that with Him I would be okay and not to worry.
Then this morning I read Psalm 145 and underlined the entire Psalm. It was God speaking to me directly reassuring me that He would take care of me and that I need not worry. That He was my Father and that was His job.
When we were small children we didn’t have worries or concerns. We trusted our parents. God is like that. He is our Father and we are His children. Jesus mentioned that we are to come to Him as children. Oh, how true that is.
I have discovered that I must have the faith I had as a small child, “Only believe”, before the world changed me with its lies and deceptions. When I put my trust in God, He does amazing things.
We are only on earth for a short while in the perspective of eternity. God wants to take care of us so that we can live on earth in love and peace. He wants us to be happy just like most earthy fathers desire for their children. But that requires trust and belief.
Even when we were children we saw what happened to our relationships with our parents when we lost trust or belief. Now, even when I look back at my parents, who are both gone, I see how much they loved me and tried their best to provide for us. My father wanted nothing more for his children than for them to be happy and have the best life he could give them.
It saddens me at times that I cannot tell them how much I appreciate all they did for me. Everyday I thank the LORD repeatedly throughout the day for everything that He has done, doing and will do. I may not be able to make it up to my parents but I can make it up to my Father.
Seek the LORD with your heart and you will discover His truths and wisdom to get you through each day as this world’s lies try to take away your joy. God will magically bring you the truth before your very eyes as long as you are open to receive.
The joy of the LORD is our strength. Keep your joy and don’t let anyone or anything take that away from you. You can overcome anything this world throws at you. With God all things are possible. Only believe.
Too many people are waiting for life to be perfect before they can be happy. I hate to break this to you, but life will never be perfect.
Jesus warned us in John 16:33:
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation (trouble); but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Jesus told us to be of good cheer even through the troubles of life. He wouldn’t have said that if it were impossible.
There is a blessing that comes with age. We can look back and see these truths if we are honest with ourselves. Some of the worst times I’ve been through I found myself laughing the most which puzzled me at the time. Other times I found peace and comfort that couldn’t be explained.
When God is the center of our life then life isn’t as hard as others experience. Sure we still have troubles but knowing God’s Word gets us through those times. Trusting God and knowing that He’s with us and we are not alone is comforting in itself.
God promises in Psalm 91:14-16
"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."
Trusting in the LORD and knowing His Word will get us through the troubles in life.
We often wonder why didn’t God prevent this from happening to me. We’ve prayed, begged and more trying to force God to do what He is unable to do. He wants to but He cannot go back on His Word. If He did the entire world would evaporate killing everyone. The LORD is true to His Word.
He gave us dominion over this world. He gave us free-will. He gave us the ability to choose. He cannot force us or anyone to do His bidding. However, there is good news. He gave us His Word to help us through trouble and to prevent most of the trouble we face. We can avoid much of the trouble we encounter by following His teachings. Most often, the trouble we face is trouble we brought on ourselves. Not that we intentionally did it. But nonetheless, we choose to disregarding warning signals, or we did things we knew we ought not to do, or we put ourselves in a dangerous situation.
Happiness is a choice. It is an attitude we choose every day. Every day I choose to be happy regardless of my circumstances. I no longer wait until everything is perfect to be happy.
What I found in my pursuit to be happy every day is that I had to eliminate those things that made me unhappy. I had to choose to love people and realize they were struggling to get through life just like I was. I realized that they were only acting like they thought they should. I also knew they were listening more to the devil then they were to God and didn’t even know it. I knew that I have been guilty of the same thing. Maybe not in the same way but I have angered people too.
I realized I had to forgive and that including most of all to forgive myself. I realized that forgiveness is a gift that I give myself. It releases the bondage of unforgiveness. It released the weight from dragging the past around with me all of the time. It set me free.
That’s life. Everyone finds different things offensive. It’s based on our philosophy of life. It’s how we see the world.
I changed my philosophy to align more like God’s. That’s when I found true happiness. That’s when I found my perfect life. At least as perfect as it can get here on earth at the present moment. The more I understand and learn about God’s way, the more perfect my life becomes.
The world thinks the opposite of God. They believe that to be happy everything must be perfect. But in fact it’s the opposite. To have a perfect life, first you must choose to be happy and get rid of the thoughts that make you unhappy and realize that troubles are never permanent but happiness can be. Happiness causes the troubles to become just a speck in time which are quickly forgotten. Most often, the troubles of last week are not the troubles of this week. They come and they go. But happiness can always be with us.
The next time you find yourself unhappy realize that you chose to be unhappy. Shake it off and decide you're going to be happy no matter what is going on around you. You are in control of your happiness. So take control and see your world change in almost the blinking of an eye. It's a wonderful journey that you'll be glad you decided to take.
It’s fun looking back seeing the accomplishments I made throughout the year and where I could have improved. It’s also fun setting goals and making plans for the new year. I dislike saying goodbye to the old year so making plans for the new year helps me try to look forward to what is to come.
God tells us where there is no vision the people perish. I love having a vision of the new year with goals to achieve hopefully that will improve my life and those around me.
When my life comes to an end or when I’m old, I don’t look back and see a life of watching TV, complaining, or doing the same thing day after day. I believe that wanting to make a difference or making our life meaningful is something God places inside of each of us.
I realize most of what we end up doing is meaningless other than the good we do for others and the time we spend with God. Busy time, like my mom used to say. I just hope my busy time is time that God can use to make me a better person and which is often pleasing to Him.
One of the events of the new year in which I want to participate is Burn Notice Club. The club will be starting to watch the complete series again from the beginning. With this in mind I have two options. I can continue to document throughout the week the dialog and narration and take screen caps or I can revisit my book on the life of Fi and start writing something each week that involves the time line of the episode.
At the end of NaNoWriMo I purchased writing software with more features than Word offers. I still prefer using Word but with Scrivener I can add index cards on my thoughts, motivational pictures, research material, character information and so much more without it interfering with the actual novel.
Most likely the following years will be a combination of all of the above. But with this new software I can now add index cards for ideas or memories that are triggered each week watching each episode with my dear friends.
I love writing about Fi and Burn Notice. However, my version of Fi and her life with Michael is quite different than on the show. My version of Fi starts when her parents meet, when Fi was conceived, her life when she was born, as a small child, her childhood, early adolescence, her teen years, as she became a young woman, the death of her sister, how she acquired her skills, her involvement with the IRA, how she met Michael, their adventures throughout Europe and Africa, how she came to live in New York and the time she spent there, then her arrival in Miami. My book covers the scenes not seen in the show. What her and Michael’s life was like as a couple. In my book Fi was never an ex-girlfriend. She never belonged to the IRA. She had involvement with them but not in the traditional sense. How she was used by the CIA and the cost she paid for her involvement with both groups.
My book involves the characters from White Collar, Simon Baker from the Mentalist, Matt Passmore from the Glades and many, many, more people than what we see in the show.
It includes how she met Seymour, how she became involved in gun running, where she lived. And no, it’s not as glamorous as depicted in the show. I put her though many trials and tribulations along the way.
In my book of Fi, Michael isn’t the only hero. Fi is a hero as well.
Fi is softer than the Fi in the show. She doesn’t go around hitting Michael, yelling or storming out leaving him. She is loving, supportive, and sacrificing her wants for his with the consequences that result.
She is funny, and always surprising Michael. He thinks he knows her but he only knows what the CIA has told him about her which isn’t the truth. The CIA hid the truth from him making her a mystery that he gets a glimpse of every now and then often leaving him and Sam speechless.
As with all of my books, God plays an intricate part in the life of the main character. With my book on Fi, God’s involvement is the major factor as to why she and Michael met. A divine union of two drastically different individuals brought together to complete each other.
God also uses Burn Notice to speak to me; to make me grow in the knowledge of Him, to understand life, and to be hopefully a blessing to others.
The following is an excerpt from the beginning of the story of how Fi came to Miami...
Chapter 1: Leaving New York
“Irish, you’re packing.” the dark haired, physically fit man in his thirties said after opening the apartment door instantly seeing what he had been dreading. He took off his black leather jacket tossing it on the couch by the door. He had seen this same image in his mind for the past few weeks but had been hoping it wouldn’t come true.
Neal had called her Irish since the first day they met on the sidewalks of New York as Fi contemplated robbing the First National Bank of New York to survive. After hearing part of her story he decided not to call her by her given name but rather ‘Irish’ because of her nationality and thick accent. For some reason that name seemed to fit her better than ‘Fi’.
Now, I have to finalize my decision about Burn Notice Club as I continual to define my goals for 2016.
Jeffrey Donovan mentioned in interviews before the series began that his character Dodd wasn’t very bright (I don’t recall the actual words he used). It wasn’t until Monday night that I saw what he was referring to.
There are so many life lessons in the episode Loplop which reminds me that God is everywhere and in everything.
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse
We have a choice to just watch something on TV, then turn the channel or turn our set off and go about our life or we can take what God is showing us and learn from it.
It’s been my experience that God shows us things in advance so we can avoid pitfalls. Every regret that I have I was warned in advance.
Dodd in Fargo continued to make mistake after mistake by not controlling his mind, the words he spoke and turning his back on danger. He was so focused on revenge that he lost sight of reality and what was going on around him.
James tells us in Chapter 3 how the tongue works like a bridle or a rudder on a boat:
James 3:2
For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
Our words are powerful and set in motion the course of our life.
Proverbs 2:11 tells us:
Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
The word "discreet" means "Having or showing good judgment and self-restraint in speech or behavior; prudent". It's important for us to master discretion in what we say and do.
Also, what we magnify is more important than we realize. Dodd magnified on getting revenge on Ed, where his focus should have also been on Peggy. He put his back to the enemy. He didn’t see her as the threat she was. He didn’t subdue her completely since his attention was mainly focused on Ed. Then when his savior came he blasphemed him. He failed to rule his tongue and it killed him.
I see people blasphemy everyday not realizing what they are doing and bringing things upon themselves they do not wish to have.
Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;"
An worse yet, I see people often blaspheming the LORD, our Savior. The One who we need on our side at all times.
We see that as a common thread with Dodd through the series. He can’t see the big picture since he is too focused on the wrong things.
He isn’t unlike most of us. He is just an extreme example. I have been guilty of placing my attention and magnifying something so large that I’ve lost perspective of what I was doing and causing harm to myself as a result. I have allowed words to escape that I shouldn’t have entertained in my mind.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:34-35
Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
Dodd’s thoughts as well as the words he spoke from his heart brought forth evil against him.
God keeps reminding me that He is everywhere and in everything. If I think of the life lessons that God is trying to show me, like through these episodes, I can avoid the web of deception that satan wants to weave into my life. By focusing on God’s Word I can avoid the ropes that want to tie me down so the enemy can grab a foothold into my life. If I trust God, He will warn me of the dangers that surround me. If I allow Him to do what He does best, like vengeance, I can avoid the hurts that come with trying to accomplish it myself.
Thoughts of this episode with fade in the days to come but hopefully the lessons it contains will remain for a lifetime.
At the beginning of November I had a vision for a new book involving the character Dodd from season two of Fargo. This book will be more difficult to write since I’m not as familiar with the characters in my mind but that will change shortly like it has with the other characters in all of my books.
The book is actually the story of Dodd’s wife who hasn’t been mentioned in the series. I love creating my own characters then inserting them into the lives of others that I know something about.
For example, I love writing books involving the characters or cast members of Burn Notice by introducing a new character non-related to the show and making that character the primary focus. Since I can visualize the other characters it helps me to create a new character and how she could become entangled in their lives.
In my latest book, Dodd’s wife is out of the normal as far as the family is concerned. She is an “outsider” who everyone sees as being “weak.” This is typical in my stories. The main character doesn’t fit in making her very interesting and adding a new twist to the other character’s lives.
As each week has progressed through the series, I’m seeing how my original idea is fitting nicely into the plot. I’ve had to make a few tweaks as more knowledge of Dodd is shared by the series creator.
However, these new glimpses into Dodd doesn’t have to affect my book. That’s what I love about writing. I am in control and can make Dodd into anyone I choose or change any scene to my liking. I choose the end of the story and not the series creator.
In a way, we have the same ability with our lives. We choose our destiny. We choose how we see life. Two people in the same situation see the situation differently. One is miserable whereas the other is happy and content. We see that in siblings who grew up in the same environment. One goes in one direction and the other chooses a different direction. Life is just a series of choices and perceptions.
In life I allow my Creator to lead and direct my steps. However, in the background is another force that wants to be my creator who will lead me down the wrong path every time. His path seems right to a point but in the end it only brings death. Whereas, my Creator will bring me life if only I keep my mind focused on Him and His ways.
We all try to play God at different times in our lives taking us in a different direction, leading us away from the life God intended for us. We see this in Fargo. The characters are playing God and listening the voice of satan which is drawing each one to death.
In the end of my book, Dodd’s his wife will prove to be the strongest Gerhardt showing how vulnerable and weak the others were by listening to the wrong voice of reason. She will survive against all odds and triumph.
Each day we are writing the book of our life. How is yours turning out? Just like in writing, we have the power to change the direction our life is going. We have the power to see life as we choose. We can see it as the world sees it or we can see it as God sees it. God is good. Therefore, if we choose to see it and live it God’s way our life will be good. That doesn’t mean we won’t have bumps, turns, ruts and potholes but we will quickly get through them and hit solid pavement once again as we enjoy the view as we travel down the road of life.
I know God is everywhere and in everything. There must be many learning opportunities about life from those leaves that have hung on for weeks as the others gave up and dropped off.
Is there a time to hang on and a time to let go? Or should we just let go knowing the inevitable will come. Even if these remain leaves manage to hang on through the winter, the new leaves next summer will force them the drop off.
After Burn Notice ended a large group of fans of the show decided to watch an episode each Thursday night starting from the beginning with the Pilot episode. As the weeks continued one by one they dropped off with only a handful or two remaining. Next week we concluded watching all 7 seasons. Now the question comes, do we continue and how so.
I prefer to begin from the beginning again while others prefer watching a group of episodes that are special to them. The leaves have made me ponder. Is it time to let go or should I hang on for as long as I possibly can?
I don’t want to let go. I want to hang on until God tells me to let go. It must be the same with those leaves. They are waiting. But waiting for what?
God has so much more to teach me through the Burn Notice episodes. There are lessons to be learned in everything and the episodes are no different.
If I decide to hang on I will use that time on Thursday night as I have been, not for viewing, but for doing something different with the episode. But what that should be? I let go of watching the entire episodes when the show ended since it brings sadness where happiness once existed. But I do enjoy watching various scenes and thinking about them.
So perhaps, I will spend the next two years writing something that comes to mind from a scene from each episode to keep it alive at least for a while longer.
So, Michael, I’m looking forward to hearing your familiar voice. “My name is Michael Westen, I used to be a spy until….”, my final leaf is forced to fall off as a new life begins to unfold.
The thoughts that kept me from getting to sleep weren’t the ones as a result of worry, concern, anger, regret, or sorrow; they were just thoughts; the type of thoughts that lead from one to another.
My usually standby didn’t work; reciting Isaiah 26:3:
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
It didn’t work because I didn’t allow it to work. My mind quickly returned to thinking about other things instead of reciting the verse over and over again until I peacefully fell asleep.
I don’t know if you are like me but sometimes I wish my mind had a switch that I could turn off, but if it did then I would die. Our mind keeps us alive, it keeps our bodies functioning. This thought brought to mind another passage; Psalm 46:10:
Be still, and know that I am God;
Okay, now that’s a brilliant idea, I told myself. So I stopped thinking about anything. That’s worked before. However, again I didn’t give it enough time to work.
I got out of bed, straightened the covers then slide back in rolling over to the other side. Still my mind wouldn’t shut off. Finally, I said out loud. “NO.” Thankfully BH didn’t wake up, but that worked. I could physically feel something instantly inside of my body shut off.
You see, over the past two years I have been practicing the word “NO” and as a result my body and even physical and material things now respond to the word “no.” When I start feeling pain in my knees I tell it “no” and the pain goes away. When I’m hungry and it’s not meal time, I tell my body “no” and the hunger goes away. When I start getting upset or angry I tell myself “no” and it goes away. When I feel sad, I tell myself “no” and the sadness leaves.
The word "no" has power in it when said with authority. We see that in our children. When spoken with authority they instantly respond. We see that in our spouses and other people too. So naturally it will work on us and everything around us.
God gave us power when we became born-again. Often we don’t know we have that power unless we read the bible. God gave us authority over this earth and everything in it and that includes our thoughts, our bodies… everything. We just need to understand that authority and use it.
How many times have you thought something that you didn't want to come true only to see it come to fruition? When those thoughts try to enter my mind, I now tell them "no" and whatever I was thinking doesn't happen.
Once I took that authority last night I feel peacefully asleep.
God didn’t create flu season, allergy season, or even cold season. Those are terms man made. The only seasons God created were winter, spring, summer and fall. All the other seasons you don’t need to participate in. It’s your choice.
I read this in one of the books I often read a paragraph or two from before I go to bed. “Signs follow what you believe.” If you believe cold season is approaching and expect to get a cold, then you will get what you believe. The same goes with allergies, the flu and whatever else you are believing; good or bad.
Start believing for what you want and stop believing for what you don’t want.
So just say “no” at those thoughts and you too will see your body, mind and that around you respond to the word “NO.”
Yesterday morning I read Isaiah 66:4:
"So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight."
Thankfully because of Jesus, today God doesn’t choose our delusions. However, we do by thinking more as the world thinks rather than the way the LORD thinks. When we do this we bring fear into our lives and allow it to take control of our thoughts. Our thoughts run amuck and lead from one to another, eventually blowing things out of proportion. Our thoughts are prayers. Fear is a prayer for something we don't want. Trusting God, by casting our cares over to Him to resolve, is also a prayer. Our fears have a way of coming true simply because it is a prayer that we are believing to come true.
Job said in Job 3:25:
For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me.
I wish I had known this years ago. I would have let go of fear, anxiousness, worry, and stress. Not only do these negative behaviors bring about our worse fears but they take a toll on our bodies, our relationships and so many other areas of our life. In the end, it isn’t worth it.
God’s Word speaks to us. God loves us more and knows us better than even our parents, friends, spouses or siblings. His greatest desire is to help us. He actually wants us to have a wonderful life. He created this entire world for us with everything we will ever need.
He gave us His Word which shows us how to simplify life, reduce the problems, handle events out of our control to bring us happiness, contentment, and peace.
He is our Father. Think about what a good Father would do for His children. Then think about the capabilities of God. Unless you know God's Word, you will never know His capabilities. You will be confused as to what God is capable of doing and what He has empowered us to do. Too many people today blame God for things out of His control. Believe it or not, God doesn't have control over everything. He gave us free-will. He can't force us or anyone to do anything. But He will guide us out of a situation or comfort us with the truth in situations He doesn't have authority to handle.
The LORD has called each one of us. Some respond and some just ignore Him and it’s easy to identify who hasn’t answered or when we have ignored Him. We can tell when we haven't been focusing on God and have reverted back to spending too much time on what the world is saying since we become frustrated, worried, fearful or confused.
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight."
Evil is simply refusing to follow God’s guidelines and doing things our own way. This doesn’t delight God since He sees the train wreck that we are heading towards.
Jesus tells us in John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Paul wisely has instructed us in Philippians 4:6-9:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Everyone desires peace but few are willing to do what it takes to receive it. It’s so easy to have genuine peace. It's just a matter of getting sick and tired and determined to make the necessary changes.
Set aside all negative emotions and you will have peace. Allow God to handle your problems. Why should we handle them when He tells us over and over again in His Word to let Him do it. We were not created to handle them. We were not designed to handle them. That’s why we have fear, bitterness, unhappiness, stress, or worry. That's why our body breaks down. That's why we end up with diseases or illnesses that our body can't fight off.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Many years ago I found myself in a situation that I didn’t have the strength to handle. I had just heard several messages about turning things over to God to resolve so I put my trust in God and turned the situation over to Him confessing “LORD, I can’t handle this right now so I’m placing all of my trust in You to take care of it for me.” And He did. I did what I was capable of then allowed Him to take care of the rest. I didn’t worry. I wasn’t afraid. Then I jumped for joy at the result.
Since then I have continued to do it more and more. God has never let me down. Each time I turn something over to Him to resolve He has done it. No exceptions. It's just a matter of waiting patiently to see the results. If we only focus on the way we want God to resolve a problem we might miss the fact that He has resolved it or provided an alternative way for us to make it happen.
Today I even turn over small things to have Him resolve. This is His desire for my life.
Years ago we purchased some large black plastic storage containers to hold items we wanted protected and items we wanted to keep but no longer used such as keepsakes. They were stacked and in the way. We also have a storage closet with a door to hide the contents. I got this brilliant idea to place the storage containers in the closet to put them out of sight. I measured the closet and sure enough there was exactly enough space for them to fit. I easily slid each one inside stacking them one on top of the other. Then it happened. I wanted to retrieve some items that were stored in the bottom container so I easily removed the containers then removed the items and repacked the containers filling in the void where items were removed. When I tried to put them back in the closet they wouldn't fit. I tried every which way but they wouldn't go in. I knew they had to since I did it once. I became so frustrated I just stacked them back in their old place. Each time I saw them I would try again thinking I had a different mind set and now they would fit. I failed each time. BH even tired and told me it was impossible. A year past and they still sat there. One day I got fed up and turned the situation over to God. "God please direct my hands so that I can get them back in." And voila, they slid right back in just as easy as they did the first time. I giggled, laughed and thanked the LORD all day long. Today the situation still brings a smile as to how easily God handled the problem. God's greatest desire is to a part of our everyday life and make things easy for us.
Just like Adam and Eve in the garden, God desires the same for me and you; a worry, stress-free life enjoying walking with Him, talking to Him and discovering daily how great and marvelous He is.
Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Last night I became for a moment overwhelmed by the events taking place in the world which often happens these days. Sadness often overtakes me with the hurt being done to God’s wonderful people knowing the heartache being caused by those who do not know God.
I realize through social media we are being exposed to the evils of this world more so than ever before. It can be overwhelming at times. It’s during these times that we must step back and put things into perspective.
Thankfully, God has a way of revealing the truth. The truth is being kept from us as well as all the good that is being done to stop those who wish to hurt us.
This morning’s scriptural reading caused me to smile. It’s remarkable how once I pray, God brings me the answers and this morning was no exceptions.
A portion of my reading included, Isaiah 39:1-41:16, Ephesians 1:1-23, Psalm 66: 1-20 and Proverbs 23-25-28.
Many verses in the reading spoke to me as a reminder of how great our God is. He has a way of keeping things in perspective so that I don’t remain overwhelmed by the events taking place in this world.
I was also reminded this morning about Pastor Sheriff’s message this past weekend about “Unload” when we’re Overloaded.
“With God” and “Only Believe” are also portions of scriptures which get me quickly through frustrating and difficult times.
The bottom line is that God has the answers to whatever we are going through. His greatest desire is to help us navigate this life so that we can live in joy and be happy. He wants for us what He wanted for Adam and Eve before Adam sinned. He is the same today as He was at the beginning of the world. The truths from the beginning are still the truths of today. With that said, it is vital that we hold on to these truths to keep us sane in a world that is ever increasingly become insane. I can count on the LORD since He never wavers or goes back on His word.
I belong to the kingdom of God, not the kingdoms in this world. My position in God’s kingdom, by accepting Jesus as my LORD and Savior, makes me an heir alongside Jesus. I couldn’t be in better company.
This life we live on earth is smaller in size than the tip of a needle compared to eternity. Once we realize this truth, it's easier to put things into perspective allowing us to place the cares out of our control in God's hands and ignoring the trivial matters that weigh so many people down.
God chose us to be born, navigate through this life by the rules He set, so that we can live for eternity with Him in His garden. In Heaven I won’t even remember these times so why should I dwell on them now.
Today I will focus on God and all the wonderful things that He has blessed me with and be thankful that He chose me to be with Him forever.
Below are some of the scriptures that spoke to me:
Isaiah 40:4
Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah 40:9
O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
Isaiah 40:17
All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
Isaiah 40:23
He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
Isaiah 40:28
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 41:1
"Keep silence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength!
Isaiah 41:4
'I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He.'
Isaiah 41:6
"Be of good courage!”
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
Isaiah 41:13
For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'
Ephesians 1:2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Ephesians 1:4-6
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:12
that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:13
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 1:18-21
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Ephesians 1:22-23
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Psalm 66:2-3
Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, "How awesome are Your works!
Psalm 66:5
Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
Psalm 66:7
He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah (Selah means stop and meditate on this)
Psalm 66:16-17
Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue.
Psalm 66:19
But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psalm 66:20
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!
Proverbs 23:26-28
My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.
For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well.
She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men.
Luke 18:27
But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
Mark 5:36
“Do not be afraid; only believe."
Wrong is wrong. Evil is evil. What was good years ago is still good. This world is being turned upside down and those who know what evil is, are now the victims and the targets because we know the truth.
Hitler at times, seems like a pussy cat compared to what is going on today, even in our country.
After I’ve been bombarded with news story after news story I have to turn to God. He is my only refuge at times like these. I have to remember that I am not God, He is.
I often wonder what my role is in these times. The only thing I know is to turn the situation over to God to handle when it is beyond my grasps. Pray for the victims and most of all, I cannot allow anyone to persuade me to their way of thinking. I must stand on the truth of what is good and what is evil through God’s Word.
I must do as God tells me to do. He didn’t place me on the earth to increase evil. He placed me here because He loves me and wants me to have a good life full of His goodness and mercy. Scripture after scripture instructs me how to live my life. All I can do is be an example to others, love them and show kindness.
I need to live my life as Jesus would have me live it. His word tells me not to worry, not to be afraid, and to have good courage. That’s hard enough through the conditioning the world would have me believe. I must live my life outside of this world even though I live in it. I can choose not to become like the world.
I never believed I would see the second coming of Jesus since I thought it wouldn’t be for another hundred years or more but each day I see the acceleration increasing towards the end. But that doesn’t worry me since my house is in order. My bags are packed so to speak ready for the journey that lies ahead.
Tonight I’ll grieve but tomorrow I will rejoice in the LORD and keep my mind on focused on Him allowing Hm to guide me in the direction He knows is best for me.
"It's time to pass on to you this key. It is a symbol of your ability to unlock any door on your path to happiness. It represents a golden key of opportunity and potential.
Choose wisely. You probably weren't aware of it, but this key has been with you all your life. You just haven't learned to use it yet.
Whatever you want to accomplish in your life, you have the key to do so. It is the same key that allows you to find happiness and fulfillment in this life. And with which you can bless others.
Always remember that this key is yours and yours alone. Whenever you find yourself blaming others for your circumstances, look at the key. It cannot be taken away from you. You alone decide, which doors to open and which paths to take.
This is the gift of your life and you alone hold the key to it."
(courtesy of the "Letter Writer")
I remember reading those words from a fellow classmate from response cards from our tenth year high school reunion which caused me to cry. How wonderful it would be to say those exact words, I told God.
You see, I often hated my life and couldn’t understand why God had placed me here. I saw no point in it.
This is odd since I am a positive person by nature. I am in a good mood the minute I open my eyes in the morning and have always started out my day in joy.
That’s what Satan does to us. He deceives us into believing that which is not true by twisting, magnifying and distorting the things we don’t like until that’s all we can see.
Today, I look back and I can truly say “I love my life” with sincere gratefulness to the LORD for showing me the truth.
Satan still tries to deceive me, but now I have the tools and the weapons to fight him off.
Once you hit bottom or come to a point in your life when you’ve had enough and turn to God for help, He comes through.
What’s the secret? A grateful heart. That is one of the greatest keys to happiness and a fulfilled life.
Today, I am grateful for the little blessings that I experience each day. Today, my focus is on the goodness in my life not the lack. Today, I’m thankful. And today I am in love.
By love I mean, I love everything from the LORD. I look at people differently and the things that happen to me. God has given me the weapons I need to fight off those old bad thoughts.
Today I realize that we are all in a battle and some have chosen better weapons to fight each day. We all are trying to do our best with what we have. Today, I can separate the person from their acts and see them as God sees them. Today, I can love everybody. We all mess up. We all make mistakes. There is no one perfect. It doesn’t mean I condone their behavior. Not the least, I still detest their behavior but I don’t detest them since I know they are being led by satan and not by God. They are being deceived just like I have been so many times.
Today when I’m faced with something or somebody that is troubling, I can draw my weapon and kill the evil thoughts so that only the good ones remain allowing me to see the situation in truth so I can deal successful with what life brings me. I realize that trouble will come my way, but I have enough years under my belt that I know I’ll be able to handle it, since I have in the past. I might not like it, but I’m going through that problem and not let it take me down.
Today, when I’m face with a situation not to my liking, I continue to praise God through it. I thank Him for giving me the ability and strength needed to handle it. I thank Him for His guidance through His Word that He will give me the scriptures needed to keep my mind focused on the solution and not the problem. And as a result, He gives me success.
Today, I trust God for everything. And as result He brings so many blessings my way that it often overwhelms me with His goodness. Little nobody Anne, who is somebody to God. Somebody that God adores, just like He adores you. His love for us is unimaginable. The closer I get to God, the more grateful I am and realize how little I know Him and can’t give Him enough praise that He well deserves.
Today I am grateful to live in His presence. The God that created the universe loves me. How could I not love the life He has given me? I never want to be ungrateful again. Today I want to recognize all the good things God has done for me. There are millions of things I’ll never know that He’s done since they are done in secret. He just does them because He loves us.
God is love. We were made in the image of God. Therefore, when we love or are in love we are the closest we can be to Him. That’s why when we love something it makes us feel that incredible joy deep inside.
God is everlasting. To have everlasting love and that deep joy inside, it’s necessary to place our love in Him and the goodness He brings our way.
Thank you LORD, I love the life you've given me.
I love Burn Notice. This is almost an understatement. The show causes me to laugh, cry, and most importantly, think. What a novel idea. Think.
I love to screen cap and document the dialog in each episode which gives me time to focus on each pic and the words spoken. Typing them often allows the words to sink in letting me see something new each time. This is because I often become so distracted looking at Michael, I completely miss the words spoken and what the other characters are doing.
At the end of “Exit Plan”, Fi comes home to a worried Carlos wondering where his girl is. She had been retained in police lockup unknowingly at the request of the C.I.A. and now she was returning to her new home with Carlos having to explain to him her predicament. As the scene unfolds it’s déjà vu all over again as she mimics Michael and Carlos mimics her with the words spoken in reverse circumstances from “Long Way Back” and “Game Change.”
Life has a way of doing that to us. Sometimes we call it karma, or déjà vu. The bible speaks of this very thing that we need to be careful in our thoughts towards other people lest we find ourselves in the same situation.
Sadly, Fi doesn’t seem to recognize her error towards her reactions to Michael earlier in their relationship. But she now knows the truth as to why Michael is helping the C.I.A since she is being force for the very same reason to help them too. It is to save her own neck. She missed an opportunity to grow by holding on to hatred and not recognizing that life had placed her in a similar circumstance making her like the person whom she hated.
Events in life, like this scene, often take me back to a series of events in my life that changed me forever.
When I was in elementary school I became friends with a girl who invited me to my first sleepover other than with family. That sleepover altered my life forever. Unfortunately, I didn’t consult my mom since I thought she might persuade me not to associate with my new friend. As a result I carried hatred in my heart for many years until one day...
You see my friend’s mother had abandoned her family. The kids (6 of them) went off to school and when they came home she was gone never to be heard of again. I couldn’t imagine a mother doing that. It was beyond my comprehension. I hated that woman for doing what she did. She hurt her family. She hurt her children for the rest of their lives while she selfishly went off with a new boyfriend. At least, that’s how I saw it.
At my first fulltime job, I met another woman who became a friend and she shared with me how her mother had abandoned her and her brother in the care of a wicked grandmother since her mom’s new boyfriend hated kids. She chose her boyfriend over her children. Again, my hatred arose for these two women whom I had never met.
Fortunately, the father of my childhood friend was a very loving father. The children weren’t resentful of their mother which I found odd. However, unfortunately, for the second friend and her brother, they were put in an abusive home which destroyed her brother and caused pain for my friend that would last a lifetime removing all trust of people including her own children. Her pain was passed down to her children which likely will be passed down to their children and so on for who knows how many generations.
God has a way of straightening out my wrong thinking just like Satan has a way of taking advantage of my wrong thinking.
A few years later, I was at my wits end after an accumulation of experiences that left me emotionally weak, not knowing what to do and not willing to burden anyone else with my problems.
One day, as I was leaving for work, I closed the front door and an “extremely” strong thought enter my mind. “Run, and don’t turn back.” The desire was so strong to get in my car then leave the state never telling anyone where I was going and starting my life over from scratch leaving all of my problems, my belongings behind me including those who I loved most in this life so that I could have peace once again. No reminders of the past except what was in my mind. If I could have left that behind too, I would have.
Instantly, I found myself at a crossroad of becoming like the women I had hated. And what was more startling was the fact that I entertained the idea of abandoning everything more than once with my hand still on the door knob. My mind had become so weak that Satan could strongly implant an idea in my mind that I could grab hold of, meditate on which could have eventually caused me to act upon it. I can’t even describe how strong that feeling was. It overtook my entire body. It was all I could do to resist the urge. It was a terrifying experience that I will never forget.
Fortunately, my sense of right and wrong were stronger than Satan’s plan. Each time that thought came up that day and the days that followed I fought it off and changed my focus on something different.
I couldn’t hurt my family and those that loved me and that I loved. I would have to endure what life had dealt me. I had to stay and fight rather than run away. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t the end of my problems with many more to come, but as a result I became stronger and today, with God, I can handle anything that life throws at me.
I learned a valuable lesson that day about judging people. I can now relate to people who abandon those who love them the most. I can understand a woman’s desire to leave her life for a new one. However, I know that it is wrong to do so. It is selfish and misguided. If I had gone with those strong desires that day, I would have ruined my life and caused so much pain for others.
Today, when I start judging people I am reminded of that time. I have to separate actions from people. It’s okay to judge the actions of others to prevent us from becoming like them. But it is never right to put that judgment on the person themselves. I was vulnerable that day as they are vulnerable to the wiles of the devil. They are weak in an area, just like I was weak and therefore can be easily persuaded to do a “piece of stupid,” like one of my ministers says.
Life repeats itself in reverse like it did with Fi as it has often done with me, time after time.
Often we give up too soon and fail to grow stronger never experiencing the blessing that lies ahead. If I had followed the urge that day thinking I was running towards peace I would have realized too late that in fact I was running to what would become regret and torment.
My hatred is gone for those two women and replaced with compassion and love. They gave up a lifetime of love from those closest to them for a moment of pleasure. In time they will have to deal with regret for the rest of their lives that can never be reversed. Only when they turn to God will they be able to use His teachings to help them through what they have done. Hopefully, they have. God can mend the broken relationship with their children if they put their entire trust in Him. It won’t be easy, and it will never be like it was at one time, but it can be restored.
I could have never have changed my life around if it weren’t for God's grace. God made all the difference. If God hadn’t been an ever presence in my life, who knows what dark hole I would have walked into. The numerous lessons I’ve learned from that one sleepover and the encounter with two women I’ve never met has made me become a better person. God has a way of taking the bad and changing it around for the good, if only we put our trust in Him with patience.
God never causes anything to happen to teach us a lesson. We do that to ourselves by the choices we make. However, He can take what we and others do to teach and bless us.
Just like Michael and Fi, once we put our pride aside and our selfishness we can restore a relationship or our life. It never will be like it was at one time, but it can be restored if we so choose. The changed and renewed life can in time become better than the old. Not like it was, just better.
Anybody who knows me, knows how much I love the series, “Burn Notice.” There are probably hundreds of reasons why, but one of the top five would have to be that God has used the dialog in the show to teach me valuable lessons. The words have a way of registering in my mind so that I meditate in greater depth and as a result they impact my life.
In the episode, “Brother’s In Arm”, Randall Burke told Michael Westen, much to his surprise, “It’s been an honor, Mike.”, just moments before sacrificing his own life for a greater cause allowing Michael to escape being held in a secret Russian facility in Cuba with a woman who was being held in a nearby cell after being tortured for two weeks.
Even though I’ve heard that line over and over including several times in the last few weeks, it spoke to me this morning. How many people could say that about me? Have I conducted my life in a manner that they could say it has been an honor to know me? Have I lived for God, so that God has shown through me to bless others?
And more importantly, have I missed the opportunity to say that to others? Have I given honor to others that have blessed my life or have I let the moment slip by? What impact on that person’s life did I fail them by keeping silent? What impact on a person’s life could be made by telling them it was an honor to have known them?
What we speak and what we do has a spiraling affect that we can’t even comprehend for generations to come on people we touch and we don’t even know it.
Just the mere words “it’s been an honor” could turn a person’s world around. It could literally save a person’s life years down the road when they think no one cares. Or it could make them see themselves differently, encouraging them to go beyond what they thought they could accomplish, contributing to the welfare of society.
Sometimes we need to be willing to let go of our selfishness and humble ourselves to give honor to others. By giving honor to Michael that day, Randall Burke received honor himself. Burke’s cause wasn’t honorable, but his final actions were. Michael will always be grateful of the sacrifice made for him that day and see Randall's final actions as being honorable. Those words will reign in his mind for the remainder of his life. Someone saw him as being honorable. Whenever he is about to do something dishonorable, he will remember those words spoken over him causing a change of direction, avoiding a path he would never want to take.
And now those words will impact my life as well for years to come.
I received a new book this week and last night I read the opening paragraph:
When you’re going through a challenging time (and we all do), it can be one of the loneliest feelings in the world. Whether it’s a threat in your marriage, a struggle in your finances or the pressure of day-to-day living, when you’re the one going through it, you begin to wonder, “Does anyone know I exist? And if they do, does anybody care?
I had been dealing with something along those lines that very morning.
Our thoughts have a way of deceiving us into believing things that aren’t true. We live in a time where people unknowingly are listening more to the world than they are to God. The world speaks the lies of Satan without realizing it. Satan would love nothing more than to mess with our thoughts and make us miserable. After all, we are children of God and Satan hates God.
It is vitally important to know the scriptures and to understand how much God loves us in order to handle this life we’ve been given. The truth will literally set you free. The Bible is the truth and God wants to share with us the secrets of living successfully in this life He has given to us, if we would only let Him.
I have been pursuing God more diligently in the last few years than any other time in my life, determined to live as God intended me to. I had to come to the realization that I no longer needed to be in control since I seem to mess up my life more than anyone else. It had to stop. I wanted to be happy again like I was when I was a small child. I had to let go and let God led me. I was so tired of battling life I had to say “uncle.”
On the day I made that decision, I can imagine God and all the angels in heaven doing the “happy dance” thinking “it’s about time.” That was one of the best decisions I have ever made. That was the day I was set free and started on the most wonderful journey of my life.
Today when those thoughts enter my mind I can quickly chase them away since I know the truth. Scriptures instantly come to mind from the Holy Spirit telling me the truth. I can quickly turn a sad, frightening, or aggravating situation into one of happiness. I now see the true reality of life, no longer being deceived other than for a brief moment.
No matter what you are struggling with today know this. God loves you more than anyone in this world ever can. Because He loves us He has given us an instruction manual for dealing with this life. He is our Father and He wants to be our Father. He wants to take care of us. He wants to show His love to us. He wants to take away our problems and deal with them Himself. But it’s up to us to let Him be that and do those things for us.
It simply takes a decision. You have to desire to want to know God. You have to desire to want to walk with God. Once He knows this look out! He will bombard you with the truth about life. He will tell you the mysteries of life that He keeps hidden from those who do not diligently seek Him. It is quite overwhelming when this happens… in a good way.
Your prayer life will change from a time of begging to a wonderful time of the day just talking with God sharing your life with Him. He will speak to you in a way that you will understand. God is tender and He is funny, after all He invented humor, as He pointed out to me.
You will experience a peace that you never have. You will experience love like never before. You will have contentment. And you will experience the happiness of a small child.
And to answer the question, does anyone care? Yes Someone cares. God cares about you like no one else could ever care about you. You are His child. He created you because He loves you. You are never alone. There is always Someone looking out for your best interest if only you would allow Him.
The truth will set you free!
We are to cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for us. God loves us so much that He wants to handle our problems for us. Worrying will destroy us and a product of the devil.
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
There once was this lady who looked out her back door and saw her three children playing with three little skunks.
She shouted, “Run, kids, run!” And they did. Each one grabbed their little skunk and took off running.
So often we do that as Christians. We bring our problem to the Lord and say, “Here is the problem, Lord,” but when we get up, we take our stinky problem with us. We worry about it all night. When we keep worrying over it, then we still have possession of the problem. We need to leave the problem with God and walk away knowing that He has taken possession of it for us.
Or suppose you have a watch that doesn’t run. You take it to a jeweler and ask him to fix it for you. As you are holding it in your hand, you keep asking him when he is going to fix it. He replies, “When you give it to me.” If you have the watch (the problem) then He can’t fix it. But when He has the problem, you don’t have it anymore. It is foolish to worry over something you no longer have.
God cannot do anything about your problem until you give him possession of it by letting go then put your complete trust that He will take care of. If you are still worrying about it you haven’t given it to the Lord to take care of so He can’t do anything about it.
God cares about us and is our loving Father. Like our earthy father, God wants to take our problems upon Himself and take care of them for us. So start casting you cares upon Him, leave the worrying behind and trust Him to take care of it for you.
Today, while meditating, I realized that the answers to life are like a lost sock.
While folding clothes we find that we have one sock left over without its mate so we search for it. We do that when looking for answers in the Bible. We start searching.
Like the lost sock sometimes we tell ourselves ‘I’ll look for it tomorrow.’ Then we go on our way putting off the search until another day.
We know that the sock is in the house since it couldn’t just walk away. Just like we know the answer to our question or the answer to our problem is in the Bible. We just don’t know where to look.
When we remember that lost sock, sometimes we will set aside a small portion of time to look for it. Or we will get an idea in our mind where it might be. The same applies to the Bible. Sometimes we find the answer but other times it still remains lost.
It isn’t until we become determined to find that lost sock when we actually find it. Of course, there are times we will stumble upon it by accident. But it isn’t until we decide we will search from one end of the house to the other end tearing apart everything as we go. We turn clothing inside out. We look closely at everything. We look for it in an organized determination not to quit searching until it’s found.
The same goes for life and to understand how life works and the answers to our questions. We need to be determined to “know the Word of God.” We start at the beginning and go page by page often rereading it over and over again before the answer is revealed.
Like a lost sock often when we find the sock it is in an area where we had looked before. It wasn’t until we were determined that the sock is revealed.
Then there are other times that we find the sock in the most unlikely spot. Like the Bible, sometimes the answers are in the least likely book of the Bible.
If you need answers keep searching. The Bible says if we seek we will find. It just depends how determined and thoroughly you search.
Matthew 7:7-8
7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Many times we have to be willing to ask for assistance. Ask God and expect that He will reveal what you are searching for. Or knock and wait patiently for the door to be opened. Never give up. All the answers you are looking for are in the Bible. All your hopes, wishes, dreams, will be answered when you are determined to find them or determined to obtain them. You need to be like a blood hound and never, never give up.
Having experienced the real thing, I have to admit the same nausea, rejection and sadness came upon me. Even my heart hurt slightly. It was a very mild version of the same thing.
When events like this occur in our life it is important to immediately take our eyes off from ourselves and start putting things into perspective. Selfishness is the root of all unhappiness, depression and grief.
Life will go on regardless of what we are facing. The awesome news is that we are going through something and eventually we get through it. We might come out a little battered and bruised but that depends how long we want to stay in the storm. If we want to get out of it quickly then the scars won’t be as deep and we will heal faster.
This life is short; shorter than we can even imagine until the end comes when it’s too late to do things differently.
Life is meant to be lived in the present and not in the past.
Sure I am disappointed but more so, I am grateful to have had the time I did.
Life is changing once again and I hate change. But that is unrealistic to think life will remain as it is today. Everything that we can see, touch or smell is temporary. But our memories, which are unseen, can last a lifetime.
Always keep the good memories and leave the bad ones in the past where they belong. It’s too much a burden to carry sadness, grief, resentment, bitterness or anger around with us each day.
Happiness, peace, joy, hope, love and contentment are no burden at all, so fill your life with these instead. Focus each day on the good things that life brings us. That way when disappointment comes, which it will, you will have a storehouse of good memories to draw upon to get you quickly through your storm.
Life is like a coin. There are two sides to everything. We can look forward to a promising future; look at the good things in our life; see the bright side in every circumstance (the front of a coin), or we can always look at the poop; the shit in our life; the bad in every situation (the tail side). The choice is yours. Do you want heads or do you want tails?
